The 1st Infantry Brigade headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces has been moved from the town of Tapa, about 150 kilometres from the Russian border, to a base in Jõhvi, roughly 50 kilometres away, the Financial Times reported, citing Estonian officials. The Jõhvi base has been expanded and modernised.
A new military base designed for 1,000 service members is under construction in Narva. Two hundred troops will be stationed there permanently, with the facility able to accommodate another 800 in the event of a crisis on the border.
In 2025, Estonia signed contracts to buy nine US-made HIMARS launchers with missiles capable of striking targets up to 300 kilometres away, along with nine South Korean Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers of comparable range, according to the FT report.
The term "active defence" was added to Estonia's National Security Concept in May. According to the newspaper, Estonian military and intelligence officials do not believe Moscow wants a full-scale war with NATO, at least not in the next two years. They do, however, fear a limited incursion intended to test the alliance's readiness to defend a member state. The seizure of Narva, whose population is mostly Russian-speaking, is cited as an example.
"Our goal is clear — to keep the enemy and the destruction of war away from Estonian territory," the country's Defence Ministry said.
In the FT's assessment, the main uncertainty for Estonia is tied to the war in Ukraine. As long as fighting continues, the Russian army is tied down, but a truce could free tens of thousands of battle-hardened troops for redeployment to the border. "We were afraid of war. Now we are afraid of the end of the war," a senior Estonian intelligence official told the newspaper.
Other countries bordering Russia have also voiced fears of Russian provocations. Latvia's security services raised the prospect in the summer.